"Riding Herd on Words"
Cowboy Poetry by that Rod McKuen of the Saddle-Sore Set, "Ranger Rik" Livingston

"Searching for the Elephant"*

Rusted windmill churning
the milky way night air
o'er roads he's sojourning
to never reached nowheres,
dusty breeze in his hair,

He's riding aimlessly.
He don't carry no cares.
Bed by a lonesome tree,
say his simple prayers,
and sleep 'neath moon's wane glare.

He dreams of yester-strife,
but sun finds him elsewhere
and agrees - with this life
there's nothing can compare;
always here, going there.

 

 


*Term for "traveling from ranch to ranch."

 

Steam Loco-motive

The times may look a mess
The future look so bleak,
but this is the best batch
of chaos I've seen all week!

Just let that "hot water"
boil on up; surge and flow.
The truth will always out
and usefulness will show.

It'll power our steam train.
Yes, that's what it will do.
Take that ol' troubled water
and puff it out brand new..

Roll bad news in white balls,
Whiff them up in the air.
Floating with the soft clouds,
lighter than a prayer.

Soon they're on the horizon,
burned in a setting sun...

Let's look for more problems,
Hell! We'll have some more fun!

 

Nervous Dove

I says, "high," you says, "low,"
Come fly away on th' wings
of a meltin', spring time snow.
Yup, hear them beat, feel them sing?

It's night time.

There's still time.

 

It's a go go stop go
no no yes no confused thing,
M' meltin' wings, don'ya know
are much better then nuthing.

You and me.

Fly with me.

 

I know we won't fly long,
'cause they ain't real; jist warm snow.
But, hear th' beat! Feel th' song!
"Hi." And please don't you say "No."

I'm tryin'.

We're flyin'.

Pannin' For Fool's Gold

More than a person to me;
a nugget-colored dream ideal.
Fooling me
with second-hand philosophy
'til you stood revealed.

For when the betraying rains came
the gilt washed 'way to show
your real shame:
your wisdom wasn't yours to claim,
but old thoughts incognito,

To think I believed you knew
the one-and-only true solution,
and here you
didn't even once begin to
know there was a question!

All poetry and other materials
on this site are copyright © Rik Verlin Livingston.
All rights reserved.
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Thanks, pardner...